Spirituality and Our Children

A Course in Miracles describes “The Teachers of God” with the above quote. You can also call them The Teachers of LOVE. It is you if you are hearing the call.

You can click on the link to watch my video below, or just keep reading!

Today I would like to talk about spirituality and our children. If you have any interest in finding your soul’s purpose and making the world a better place, this topic is for you. This goes out to all the parents, teachers, mentors, counselors, neighbors, aunts, uncles, etc., out there. You are all teachers of God. You are all called to be priests and priestess. Your role is unique to what only you can teach. I bow to you and the power you hold.

This post is in light of the most recent school shooting that happened in Parkland, Florida last week, Wednesday, Valentine’s Day, and Ash Wednesday. My heart and soul has been pulled to this, as everyone’s has, making me think, what is the answer?

My expertise is in mental health and spirituality. Here is where I can shed some light on the subject. And probably to no one’s surprise, here, I believe, is where the answer lies.

(Of course, I do believe the answer is holistic. I also believe as a system, we need to change policies in order to make a better world. I am going to focus on spirituality and mental health.)

I know there is a lot of talk about how Florida is the last state in mental health funds. Of course, I believe, mental health support is important. But I also believe, in many ways, mental health has failed us.

Unfortunately mental health has fallen victim to insurance companies. We are forced to give quick, band-aid therapies that cannot look at any underlying issues. This problem is a holistic issue. It cannot fall onto the mental health field alone.

This is not an issue where we can take one kid out of the school, give him treatment, and put him back into the system. It does not work. The system needs to be fixed.

When watching one of the videos from the shooting, one thing stuck in my brain. It was the video where the SWAT team entered into one of the classrooms of terrified kids and a terrified teacher. The SWAT team told all the kids to put their hands in the air. Out of about 20 kids, one of the kids hands was trembling. The rest of the kids had steady hands, straight in the air.

I know, from my mental health background, that the kid with the trembling hands was the more sensitive kid. He/she is probably more prone to PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Let me ask you this, which kid was thinking more rationally?

See in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, we teach people to think about things from a rational perspective in order to decrease anxiety. The problem is, it is perfectly rational to be depressed and anxious in this world. The kid who is depressed and anxious IS being rational. The kid with the trembling hands was perfectly rational and sane.

The only thing that can help with this rational fear is deeply held, spiritual beliefs. These spiritual beliefs that will save our kids can be obtained through meditation, yoga, and prayer. Our kids are very open to it. It’s our adults who struggle. We have been made afraid to talk about religion and spirituality.

Our kids today are spiritually starving. They need a spiritual backdrop in order to decrease their very rational fear. Teachers, parents, aunts, uncles, mentors, do not be afraid to have a spiritual conversation with your kids. Do not be afraid to meditate with them. Do not be afraid to pray. Do not be afraid to talk about death and to help them get clear on their own beliefs.

Do not think you have to have all the answers. Kids are naturally very spiritual. Introduce them to meditation, and they will probably be able to give you some of the answers. It is okay to not know. Don’t be afraid to explore the real questions with them.

This post is about the survivers and victims. It is not about the perpetrator. But I do have to wonder, what if the kid who committed that crime was brought up in a school that taught meditation, yoga, and spirituality as a daily practice? His mom died a year earlier, right? What if he was taught that his mom’s soul is real and still with him? Would that have changed things?

Of course we cannot definitely say yes, but we have to wonder. Why are we so scared to bring spirituality into our schools? Why are we so scared to call yoga more than just “exercise”. Yoga and meditation are spiritual mind-trainings that teach us to identify with love and one another instead of the fear of this world. They help us to look at the fear and transcend it to the peace that only lies beyond this world.

The beautiful thing is, the souls of those 17 people were not killed. They still live with us. Teach those kids still alive not only that we will never forget, but that we will change things. We will be brave, and shine our light. In turn, we give them permission to shine theirs.

Prayers for peace to all the victims, their families, friends, the community, all of our schools, our country, our world. We are all one. And as one, we will fix this. We are teachers of God, and we have heard the call.

Pictured above is our weekend tarot card reading from Animal Tarot by Doreen Virtue and Radleigh Valentine published by Hay House. The Two Of Autumn for Friday encourages us to have a good balance between work and personal life (have more fun). The Sun on Saturday tells us to have more fun! Appreciate all your accomplishments and your time in the sun! Sunday with the Ace of Spring, we are encouraged to spring into action! News of a new opportunity presents itself, so jump on it! All my love!